Please provide evidence that there is still a war raging there. The only military action is that of US/UK/etc troops trying to find pockets of Taliban holed up in caves, etc. Yes, people said before the war that there was the possibility that the civil war might continue even after the Taliban was gone. No, it did not happen. Do you even read the news?
Wow, a lecture from a Brit about how awful life in America is. Thanks, buddy. I'm sure you know much more than we do.
Re:USA may be in decline
on
The Almighty Buck
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
You are horribly, horribly naive. In many parts of the world, the only thing preventing full-scale war from breaking out is the knowledge of certain American intervention. While shitty things happen where American troops are stationed sometimes, it's almost always the lesser of two evils. For example, the American campaign in Afghanistan undoubtedly killed a number of civilians, which is terrible. But it also ended the decade-long civil war and established enough order for massive amounts of aid to be delivered -- which has saved many many times the lives that were unintentionally ended.
The world is not black and white. We can't just leave and expect some sort of utopia to grow up in its place.
1) Sicily is much worse off than the rest of Italy -- poverty increases exponentially as you move further down the peninsula, and it's at its worst in Sicily.
I thought the exact same thing when I read that. The bridge has the potential to vastly improve the Sicilian economy, which would long-term do more to help it than what they propose.
Of course, if their economy improves, that would mean that someone was making a profit, which as we all know is possible only through the exploitation of the weak and defenseless.
Although as a young footballing nation, you wouldn't know about that, would you?
Do you remember the last time the US and England met in a World Cup? USA 1:0 England. Have fun watching us in the second round. You're going home early.
political: we manage to get every country ticked at us.
But yet, they keep coming back for more...
social: we are self absorbed, unthinking, and cannot function socially without coffee and television
If you think this makes the US different, you've clearly never been to Europe.
education: our system is a mess. there's not enough money to pay teachers. the ciriculum is dumbed down. half the students can't pass basic minimum requirement tests.
Oh the irony of misspelled words in "our edumecation is bad!" rants.
ah, but we have Patriotism(TM) and that makes us right!
Fuck patriotism, we have John O'Brien, Landon Donovan, and Brian McBride.
WE WON, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS! We will dispose of every pansy-assed Euro team that gets in our way.
Re:would you like some cheese with that w(h)ine?
on
Amazon.Heartbreak
·
· Score: 2
The "happiness of living"? I'm really sorry you're depressed, but frankly, it's not Wal-Mart's fault.
Like another poster down below this said, you seem to be operating on some vague set of assumptions about the evils of "big corporations," without making any sort of claim as to what they are, much less how they could be different. All we have to go on is "they make people unhappy," which is the sort of reasoning that makes me glad more pragmatic people are actually in charge of the country.
Re:would you like some cheese with that w(h)ine?
on
Amazon.Heartbreak
·
· Score: 2
Companies do not have to be 'the biggest company' to do so. That is the concept you should nail through your moronic head. The capitalist world existed quite nicely before the "Be The Biggest or Go Home" mentality that old stupid already-rich-but-need-an-excuse-to-be-richer white men that fooled you into believing over the last 20-odd years.
You know, I think you're right. All this huge-corporation stuff is really stifling the quality of living in America. It's really awful here. If only we could turn back the clock to the nineteenth century!
You really need to get a grip on yourself -- you're not nearly infallible enough that the only reason people disagree with you is that they've been brainwashed.
Re:would you like some cheese with that w(h)ine?
on
Amazon.Heartbreak
·
· Score: 4, Funny
Can you tell me what the point of 'making as much money as possible' is?
This "money" you speak of is interesting: it is a representation of the value of goods and services. "Making as much money as possible" is shorthand for "creating as much productivity as possible and being rewarded for doing so."
Or, if you would prefer a Simpsons quote:
Homer: "Twenty dollars? Aww, I wanted a peanut!" Brain: "$20 can buy many peanuts." Homer: "Explain how!" Brain: "Money can be exchanged for goods and services." Homer: "Whoo-hoo!"
You clearly have no grip on reality. There is no conspiracy to ruin your hard-won TV watching pleasure. The secret police are not going to come get you for whining about ads. And most importantly, the networks changing the way tv is presented has absolutely nothing to do with "drastic flaws in our administration." You really really need to get out more.
It was misleading because he implied that the Germans had made a sacrifice to cut their emissions that the US was not willing to make, when in actuality, all they did was annex a Soviet bloc state filled with hundreds of useless, high-emission plants.
No, the "biggest polluters" are not 3rd world countries, but the US, with 4% of world population, and 25% of world pollution. This is ten times more pollution per capita than it's nearest rival, Britain, and rapidly rising.
You forgot to mention 25% of the world's total GDP. It's not exactly surprising that the country that makes a quarter of the world's stuff also makes a quarter of its emissions, is it?
Bush is just behaving like the good boy he promised to be.
Why do moderators mod up blatantly false posts? For the benefit of those in the audience, like the poster, who did not pass third grade civics, IT'S NOT THE PRESIDENT'S JOB TO RATIFY TREATIES. Presidents sign them (which Clinton did), and they go to the Senate, which must pass them by a 2/3 margin. The Senate voted 95-0 to not ratify the treaty.
So, one more time for our slower readers: Unless George W. Bush cloned himself 67 times and got those clones elected to the Senate, there is no possible way for him to ratify the treaty even if he wants to.
Yes. Because we would all be better off if the courts had more influence on politics.
Re:In past ages the philosphers...
on
Homogenized Music
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Here's a newsflash from turn of the 20th century economics for you: the world's economy is not a zero-sum game. If you get rich, that doesn't necessarily make someone else poor.
I'm sure you knew this, but it's hugely surprising how many people have clearly never read an economics book in their life, but consider themselves experts because they read a website. It's sad.
As the former general manager of a college radio station, I'd like to say that you're largely wrong. Take a look at the current college radio top 20 from CMJ. I count one major-label record, and two records on "boutique" labels affiliated with majors. Most college radio is not shitty pre-ClearChannel crap. Most of it is really good.
You have obviously never looked at your picture on a security camera before
There are reasons these things cost $20 million each. One of those reasons is that the technology in them is slightly more advanced than in your average Kwiki-Mart.
Seriously, though, these are the promotional costs that make $3 worth of production and $.50 worth of media cost $18.99 at your local Best Buy. For all the whining Slashdotters do about "Why do CDs cost so much?" they should be firmly behind any effort to eliminate the influence of independent promoters on the music industry.
Slashdot Mirror
Please provide evidence that there is still a war raging there. The only military action is that of US/UK/etc troops trying to find pockets of Taliban holed up in caves, etc. Yes, people said before the war that there was the possibility that the civil war might continue even after the Taliban was gone. No, it did not happen. Do you even read the news?
Wow, a lecture from a Brit about how awful life in America is. Thanks, buddy. I'm sure you know much more than we do.
You are horribly, horribly naive. In many parts of the world, the only thing preventing full-scale war from breaking out is the knowledge of certain American intervention. While shitty things happen where American troops are stationed sometimes, it's almost always the lesser of two evils. For example, the American campaign in Afghanistan undoubtedly killed a number of civilians, which is terrible. But it also ended the decade-long civil war and established enough order for massive amounts of aid to be delivered -- which has saved many many times the lives that were unintentionally ended.
The world is not black and white. We can't just leave and expect some sort of utopia to grow up in its place.
1) Sicily is much worse off than the rest of Italy -- poverty increases exponentially as you move further down the peninsula, and it's at its worst in Sicily.
2) Your sig: It should be "Carpe Canem."
I thought the exact same thing when I read that. The bridge has the potential to vastly improve the Sicilian economy, which would long-term do more to help it than what they propose.
Of course, if their economy improves, that would mean that someone was making a profit, which as we all know is possible only through the exploitation of the weak and defenseless.
That and it keeps tourists showing up in London... Between tabloid sales and hotel rooms, the royals are probably a multibillion-dollar industry.
I doubt it -- Poland are fucking terrible, and we'll likely get Mexico in the second round.
Do you remember the last time the US and England met in a World Cup? USA 1:0 England. Have fun watching us in the second round. You're going home early.
But yet, they keep coming back for more...
If you think this makes the US different, you've clearly never been to Europe.
Oh the irony of misspelled words in "our edumecation is bad!" rants.
Fuck patriotism, we have John O'Brien, Landon Donovan, and Brian McBride.
WE WON, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS! We will dispose of every pansy-assed Euro team that gets in our way.
The "happiness of living"? I'm really sorry you're depressed, but frankly, it's not Wal-Mart's fault.
Like another poster down below this said, you seem to be operating on some vague set of assumptions about the evils of "big corporations," without making any sort of claim as to what they are, much less how they could be different. All we have to go on is "they make people unhappy," which is the sort of reasoning that makes me glad more pragmatic people are actually in charge of the country.
You know, I think you're right. All this huge-corporation stuff is really stifling the quality of living in America. It's really awful here. If only we could turn back the clock to the nineteenth century!
You really need to get a grip on yourself -- you're not nearly infallible enough that the only reason people disagree with you is that they've been brainwashed.
This "money" you speak of is interesting: it is a representation of the value of goods and services. "Making as much money as possible" is shorthand for "creating as much productivity as possible and being rewarded for doing so."
Or, if you would prefer a Simpsons quote:
Homer: "Twenty dollars? Aww, I wanted a peanut!"
Brain: "$20 can buy many peanuts."
Homer: "Explain how!"
Brain: "Money can be exchanged for goods and services."
Homer: "Whoo-hoo!"
You clearly have no grip on reality. There is no conspiracy to ruin your hard-won TV watching pleasure. The secret police are not going to come get you for whining about ads. And most importantly, the networks changing the way tv is presented has absolutely nothing to do with "drastic flaws in our administration." You really really need to get out more.
It was misleading because he implied that the Germans had made a sacrifice to cut their emissions that the US was not willing to make, when in actuality, all they did was annex a Soviet bloc state filled with hundreds of useless, high-emission plants.
You forgot to mention 25% of the world's total GDP. It's not exactly surprising that the country that makes a quarter of the world's stuff also makes a quarter of its emissions, is it?
That's a very misleading statistic -- Germany reduced emissions by 19% simply by taking those monstrous inefficient East German power plants offline.
Why do moderators mod up blatantly false posts? For the benefit of those in the audience, like the poster, who did not pass third grade civics, IT'S NOT THE PRESIDENT'S JOB TO RATIFY TREATIES. Presidents sign them (which Clinton did), and they go to the Senate, which must pass them by a 2/3 margin. The Senate voted 95-0 to not ratify the treaty.
So, one more time for our slower readers: Unless George W. Bush cloned himself 67 times and got those clones elected to the Senate, there is no possible way for him to ratify the treaty even if he wants to.
Yes. Because we would all be better off if the courts had more influence on politics.
Here's a newsflash from turn of the 20th century economics for you: the world's economy is not a zero-sum game. If you get rich, that doesn't necessarily make someone else poor.
I'm sure you knew this, but it's hugely surprising how many people have clearly never read an economics book in their life, but consider themselves experts because they read a website. It's sad.
Now I'll never get to sleep tonight.
Actually, it's "liber" in Latin, not "libre."
Love,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Latin Pedant
You misspelled "pointless, useless, utterly factually devoid websites."
As the former general manager of a college radio station, I'd like to say that you're largely wrong. Take a look at the current college radio top 20 from CMJ. I count one major-label record, and two records on "boutique" labels affiliated with majors. Most college radio is not shitty pre-ClearChannel crap. Most of it is really good.
There are reasons these things cost $20 million each. One of those reasons is that the technology in them is slightly more advanced than in your average Kwiki-Mart.
Newsflash: Corporation Concerned About Money!
Seriously, though, these are the promotional costs that make $3 worth of production and $.50 worth of media cost $18.99 at your local Best Buy. For all the whining Slashdotters do about "Why do CDs cost so much?" they should be firmly behind any effort to eliminate the influence of independent promoters on the music industry.